Things to Do With Toddlers and Twos

by Karen Miller

Toddlers explore the world using their senses with over 400 exciting hands-on activities. The suggested activities help children develop cognitive skills, language, sensory awareness, gross and fine motor skills, self-image, sociability, imagination, and more. 168 pages.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

b. 1942

Karen Miller has worked in early childhood education for more than 30 years. She has held a wide variety of positions, including classroom teacher and parent coordinator for Head Start, director of four different child care centers, regional and national training and education director for two national child care organizations, and early childhood education editor for Scholastic Inc.'s Early Childhood Division. She was also a contributing editor for Child Care Information Exchange, writing a regular column called "Caring for the Little Ones," focusing on infants and toddlers. Karen earned her master's degree in human development from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California.

Reviews

[Kate Hyde · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives some great ideas for activities to do with kids. It seems specifically written for day care centers, but most of the activities can also be done at home. There's also great advice on how to interact with kids and build their creativity. I especially like that there are recipes for homemade finger paint and play dough that cost a lot less than store-bought. Some of the activities are things that parents would most likely come up with on their own - playing with pots and pans, drawing, sand and water play, filling and emptying a bucket, blowing bubbles. But there are lots of new ideas as well, so this book is definitely worth checking out. Best of all, most of the activities don't require a lot of set-up - I hate it when I have to take 20 minutes to prepare an activity that only holds my daughter's attention for 5 minutes!

[Amy (Bossy Bookworm) · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some truly giggle-worthy 1970's ideas in this book. Lots of homemade craft and toy ideas that would save you money as you created vs. buying, but that would take hours to make and moments for a toddler to destroy. Also: constant warnings about choking hazards, anyone? I guess it would be good for a daycare setting in which the teachers needed lots of ideas for older two-year-olds and were constantly supervising the play that resulted from this book's ideas.

The book offers helpful ideas like recipes for no-cook Play-doh, no-bake cookies, and some other clever things I can't think of at the moment. It's the first book like this I've read, so I'm not sure how it stacks up to others.

[Émile · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a preschool teacher, this is the best book on early childhood education I've read so far. A few things were a bit outdated in terms of current DHS regulations on safety and hygiene, but it was still bursting with good ideas. I also appreciated the reminders about reasonable expectations, i.e. not pressuring two year-olds to share toys or to do complicated art projects that are for the teacher or parent's benefit rather than the child's. It's all in a straight-forward, conversational tone, as if Karen Miller was in the classroom with me, sagely telling me that when a toddler says "uh-oh" it usually means they're about to make a mess.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Busy hands are happy hands. This book has lots of creative play ideas for toddlers that involve easily accessible materials. The ideas are developmentally appropriate and focus on process, not product.

[Lisa]

It's a good book, but I found that it's geared towards groups of toddlers and maybe a preschool setting. Since I have one child, it's got some good ideas, but I have gotten better ideas from other books for my one kid.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Ideas - geared toward a preschool teacher, but definitely doable at home. Had this from my undergrad training and just pulled it out and was pleasantly surprised that it is useful for parents too. :)

[Tiana]

Lots of great stuff, but I think I need to just buy for those rainy days when I need help.

[Kenzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always looking for new activities for my 2 year old. This goes beyond the usual arts and crafts ideas.

[Julia Southwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great resource for teachers and parents!

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the explanations and activities for different development skills and ages.